jerryf25
Patron
One of the aspects of scientology that probably puzzles non-scientologists is why staff members sometimes stay and experience years (or decades) of being abused.
Examples of influences on staff members to put up with being abused year after year:
1. Fear of losing contact with children and other relatives
2. Believing that the church of scientology has the only effective method to achieve individual salvation and reform of society.
3. Having nothing to compare the scientology lifestyle to; for example, being born to parents who were scientology staff members
4. No money or outside friends or relatives to assist them if they left the church
5. Having little or no experience functioning in the outside society
6. Being repeatedly told that you will be unable to succeed in the evil outside world
7. Fear of being punished if caught trying to leave
8. Being constantly guarded and isolated; physically prevented from leaving
9. Guilt feelings resulting from the emphasis on searching for your own misdeeds, rather than acknowledging misconduct by church executives
10. Wanting to stay in and fix what they see as wrong
Justifications for staying in:
- Yeah, there are some problems with church management, but the good outweighs the bad.
- Maybe it will get better.
- Hubbard might reincarnate and straighten things out.
My cognitions about the unworkability and hypocrisy of scientology did not occur until after developing caring relationships with a woman in the Sea Org and her children. After three years of robotic obedience, love helped reawaken rationality in my mind.
Amy Scobee, in “Abuse At The Top,” described having a breakthrough cognition during an ethics interview in 2002:
I was routed to the Ethics Department after my removal [from post] and asked, “What out-ethics situation are you involved in?”
. . .
I thought long and hard. I actually wanted to know the answer because I was very unhappy and heading nowhere fast.
Then it hit me – I realized what I had been doing that was out-ethics: I had been rationalizing insanities!
When I spotted this, I felt a huge weight lift off of my shoulders. I suddenly felt so empowered. It answered everything that had been eating at me for years. I had a built-in mechanism whereby I would see something odd, something that shouldn’t be or even outright evil and destructive acts and in my mind I would somehow “justify” or figure out reasons why it was okay to be that way.” (pp. 152-153)
. . .
I thought long and hard. I actually wanted to know the answer because I was very unhappy and heading nowhere fast.
Then it hit me – I realized what I had been doing that was out-ethics: I had been rationalizing insanities!
When I spotted this, I felt a huge weight lift off of my shoulders. I suddenly felt so empowered. It answered everything that had been eating at me for years. I had a built-in mechanism whereby I would see something odd, something that shouldn’t be or even outright evil and destructive acts and in my mind I would somehow “justify” or figure out reasons why it was okay to be that way.” (pp. 152-153)
In the thread Leaving, Alan Walter shared realizations he had during an O/W write-up that led to him leaving the church:
“ . . . my umtee-umpth O/W write-up - feeling like I was the biggest criminal on Earth . . .
I decided to write up all my criminal actions.....
I sat there pen in hand, a couple of hundred blank sheets of paper.
I sat and scanned my life........outside of stealing money out of my mother's purse......and several speeding tickets......nothing. Duh!
. . .
it was just a matter of stripping away the false programming and finding the wrong items. I guess the biggest wrong item was "my reach and my abilities were overts."
I did one other action which was to find the correct items. I did this by writing-up my abilities, life skills and assets.
This positive action helped run out a tremendous amount of invalidation, and my power and reach came back.
That was it......I retired from Scio.
Walked away.
Basically it has been UP ever since.
I decided to write up all my criminal actions.....
I sat there pen in hand, a couple of hundred blank sheets of paper.
I sat and scanned my life........outside of stealing money out of my mother's purse......and several speeding tickets......nothing. Duh!
. . .
it was just a matter of stripping away the false programming and finding the wrong items. I guess the biggest wrong item was "my reach and my abilities were overts."
I did one other action which was to find the correct items. I did this by writing-up my abilities, life skills and assets.
This positive action helped run out a tremendous amount of invalidation, and my power and reach came back.
That was it......I retired from Scio.
Walked away.
Basically it has been UP ever since.
Leaving scientology is a process, usually not a one-shot decision. Amy had the above cognition in 2002, yet did not leave until 2005. Years of habits and thought control do not disappear overnight.
Jerry